•Oscar Ekponimo
ABUJA – Technology start-up, Gallery of Code, has announced the hosting of Abuja’s first Arts and Tech festival.With the theme, ‘Investigate Technology’, the festival started on Thursday (today) and will end on Saturday, October 19.According to a statement sent to Sundiata Post by Oscar Ekponimo, founder of Gallery of Code, Arts & Tech Festival 2019 “brings together artists, creatives, technologists and anyone curious to connect the intersection between art and technology.
“It seeks to unlock perspectives and possibilities on new creative formats tied to our normal daily routines which are in large part, determined by technology.
“In this melting-pot situation, aesthetics and high-tech elements blend together to form a new contemporary landscape.”
He said the festival would involve a workshop series done in collaboration with Dr Ida-Marie Corell of the Applied Arts Department, University of Vienna with funding from the Embassy of Austria, Abuja.
Among the art works that will feature in the festival include Acrylic Craftworks by Anne Adams, Stop Motion Animation by Alexander Shuaibu and digital Illustration by Smilejohn Ezeh.
Other artists that will speak at the event, according to Ekponimo, are Jesse Goje; 3D animator, Yemi Davis and digital illustrator, Zibiri-Esakome.
In addition, the festival will feature a high-tech aesthetics blend of animation exhibitions, generative art, 3D printed art, digital art, VR & augmented reality, interactive art, and a special fashion-tech collaborative work between Gallery of Code and fashion brand, Spectrum by Aisha.
A special session during the festival called ‘From Camp to Lab’ will entail the training of 15 women and girls from IDP camps on acrylic craftwork and wall murals to improve their employability.
The festival climaxes with an open day exhibition and performance on Saturday at Kulture Kode Art Hub bringing together the Abuja creative community and stakeholders.